Christmas Snow

 We got some Christmas snow and the snowflakes were big enough to see the beautiful designs. 

Pinatas

 This might be an unusual post for December, the holiday season, but it's also birthday time for our family! All three of my kids have December and January birthdays. This year we decided to make homemade pinatas. You can buy a piñata (or so I've heard you could) here in Asia, but we decided to make our own. My daughter is having a Frozen themed birthday party, my youngest son is having a Paw Patrol birthday party, and my oldest son is having a magic themed birthday so his is a card (for a card magic trick). It was my first time doing a piñata from start to finish and I really enjoyed it! The kids had fun making them too and are so excited to fill them with candy and hit them during their birthday parties! Can you guess how old my son is turning (the piñata of the card)?

Thanksgiving Week

 It's Thanksgiving week! We took the week off because it was our normal time to take a week off in between terms. It's so nice having Thanksgiving week so I think we'll do this every year if we can- take Thanksgiving week off. I think we took Thanksgiving week off last year too. Usually if we have a week off like this (we take a week off mid-term and at the end of each term) we try and go to parks and do some fun things, but this time around we haven't been able to as much because some of the kids (and me!) got colds! We're almost all better, just in time for Thanksgiving tomorrow. One thing we have done though is to start on our homemade pinatas. The kids all have December and Jan birthdays and this year we decided to try to make pints for fun. They're turning out ok and it's been a great experience for the kids. We might do homemade pinatas every year after this. Actually, this is the first time we've ever done pinatas. Pinatas aren't normally done here in Asia. 

Animals of Asia for Kids

 I just finished a book that introduces 24 animals of Asia to kids. It's a sort of follow-up on the Birds of Asia for Kids. In the book, Henry is a veterinarian in Asia and travels throughout Asia to learn about some of Asia's unique animals. One thing that struck me is how many of these animals are endangered. The book is available here and will soon be available on Amazon.com.

Fall leaves

 We went to the park the other day and it was such a nice day! This year we've had so much rain and overcast days this fall. I miss the sunshine! In the park we went to, there has been so much rain that the top of the hill area in the park turned into a temporary lake that had so many small frogs and dragonflies. The kids had a lot of fun exploring it.

In the middle part of the pic is one of the many frogs.

The temporary lake due to all the rain that we've had!

Here and There

 We did some nature study today and journaling. It's one of my favorite things to do with the kids. It was cold today, but worth it!

I love these paint brushes that hold water in them so you don't have to carry water with you when you do nature journaling outside.

My oldest drew a banana tree. No, we don't live anywhere near a tropical place, but they somehow grow here- not well though. 

Mushrooms! 

My youngest one found an interesting bug. 

My daughter also drew a little.

Zoo Orchestra

 I finished a short picture book about a zoo that was going to close. One of the employees has this idea to put together an orchestra, having the animals from the zoo play the different instruments. This is a fun introduction to the orchestra for kids. It's available on www.lulu.com for about $2. 

History of China, Part 2

 I just finished the History of China book, part 2. The first part goes from ancient history to the Tang Dynasty and the second part goes through after the Tang Dynasty to the Qing Dynasty. Both parts 1 and 2 are available as PDF on lulu.com. here: https://www.lulu.com/en/en/shop/rachel-bubb/history-of-china-part-2/ebook/product-pmm4nm.html?page=1&pageSize=4.   

6 Week Mark

 For our homeschool, we take usually take a week off after 6 weeks of class. This week is our week off and it's been a busy week off! Here are a few pictures so far:

We went to a park today, one of our favorites! It's close by and since we homeschool, we go there during the week when everyone else is working and at school so the parks are usually empty. 

My youngest two found some puddles in the grass at the park from all the rain we've been having and had so much fun splashing away! In my mind, this is how childhood should be- playing outside like this.

My oldest son has been learning to cook and today he cooked "round eggs" (fried eggs and scrambled eggs made in a small, round pan) with his sister. It was great to see them so interested in cooking.

Here and There

 Here are some small things we have done in our homeschool lately. I really enjoy homeschooling. 

My 5 ½ year old daughter loves doing chalk designs.

We found some crazy mushrooms lately!

My 3 ½ year old made this "rocket ship" all on is own.

My oldest (7 ½ year old) son has really enjoyed working with popsicle sticks lately.

We haven't found a good, big map of China puzzle. We have 2 map puzzles for the states and our kids have loved them. Since I couldn't find a big map of China puzzle, I just made one out of cardboard.

Year 3 for Learning Characters

 I just finished year 3 for learning Chinese characters using the Charlotte Mason method. The first year has 3 stories, the 2nd year had another 3 stories, and the 3rd year had 10 stories. Each story adds to the vocabulary that was learned before. All 3 books are available Lulu.com. (look for Rachel Bubb ebooks). The drawings are from the stories from book 3. Each story has 1 drawing.

Cixi: One of The Last Empresses of China

 I finished a biography about Cixi. Here's the description on the back of the book: 

Cixi (1835-1908) was one of the last empresses of China. She lived during the same time as Queen Victoria in England and ran the country in the late 1800s. However, growing up she was from a very normal family and lived a very normal life. Although she probably saw the Forbidden City many times since they lived close by, she never entered it until she moved there in her teenage years. Her son became the emperor and later on her nephew, but they were both too young to rule so she helped them lead the country until they were old enough to rule. She also had a big marble boat made in the Summer Palace in Beijing, which is still there today. 

The book is available on Lulu or Amazon. This is the 10th biography I've done so far. I might do more later, but I have a few other books I'm planning to work on over the next few months. My next book is a collection of short stories for learning Chinese. This will be the 3rd book in the series about learning Chinese Characters using the Charlotte Mason method and will have additional stories (hopefully 15 stories) for learning Chinese.

China Map

 I made a map last week for our homeschool out of cardboard. I wanted to make a 3d map that showed where the mountains and rivers and deserts of China are. I didn't label anything because I want to use it in class for our geography. It turned out good. I never thought of using cardboard to make maps like this before.